Allow me to get some formalities out of the way before anything else. It’s been about three weeks since my last post. Thanks not only to student teaching, but also a commitment to a multi-night pit orchestra production, I haven’t had any time to write new posts, let alone make more photographs outside of my formal photographic assignments.

That’s the bad news.

The GOOD news, it’s officially summer on my end! This means an abundance of free time, or at least, more time I can set aside for photography, lens reviews, and other ramblings I may deem fit for the website. 😉 I’ve got lots of things in store for the next few months, so lets get right to it!

The “fast 85”. About every single lens manufacturer has a lens with a large aperture that covers the wide end of the typical portrait focal length. Canon has an 85mm f/1.2, Zeiss currently makes their own 85mm f/1.4, the m4/3 crowd will soon have a Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.2, and even the lowly Nikon 1 system has a 32mm f/1.2 on the way. All of these lenses, when used on their respective camera formats, give a semi-wide portrait field of view that begins to give telephoto compression to images—essential to maintaining natural perspectives on subjects. Combined with their fast f/1.2-f/1.4 apertures, extremely shallow depth-of-field control is possible for marked subject separation from any background.

So then, we have the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-s, yet another hunk of metal and glass from Nikon’s film days. This lens has been superseded many times by AF-D and AF-S versions, both sporting fast f/1.4 and f/1.8 apertures. But there has to be an optical reason this lens still fetches a pretty penny online, besides for the allure of collectors, right? Let’s take a look!

Specifications

Close-focus adds half an inch in length

Full Name: Nikon NIKKOR 85mm 1:1.4 AI-s

Dimensions: 2.85 inches/72.5mm in length, 3.17 inches/80.5mm in diameter, with a heavy weight of 21.9 ounces/620 grams (hood weighs an additional ounce/30 grams). This is almost 12 ounces/340 grams heavier than the NEX-7 itself, so it balances noticeably forward in the left hand.

Close-Focus: Marked at 3 feet/.85 meters. As far as the feet markings are concerned, you can get a little closer.

The “Feel”

All metal, all glass, all AI-s. Aside from Zeiss’ new Z lenses (ZF, ZE, etc.), they just don’t make them like this anymore. I’ve never held an AI-s lens that didn’t scream out “QUALITY!” every time. When looking for a copy of the 85mm f/1.4, just make sure the glass is in good shape. That’s about the only “vulnerable” part of this hefty optic, if there ever was one.

But as always, how does the 85mm f/1.4 stack up to my four pillars of shootability?

Small size? Definitely not. Though it comes with the specs of the lens, an f/1.4 lens of this focal length can’t cheat physics.

Light weight? Another NO. Though one-handed shooting is possible with this lens on a NEX-7, it is by no means comfortable. On an SLR with a little more heft, like a d300, the kit balances much better all-around.

Smooth operation? Of course! Like nearly every other AI-s lens I have tested, the mechanical precision Nikon builds into these old lenses stands the test of time to make photography a joy. Smooth focus, positively clicking aperture stops, and solid mounting all put modern AF lenses to shame.

Generally favorable optical performance? There’s a reason this lens still sells for so much. The 85mm f/1.4 is optically fantastic, even on the resolution-monster NEX-7.

Performance

Summary

Common readers on this site know that I can’t get enough of the 105mm focal length on APS-C. However, what many don’t know is how I wish I could go just a bit wider without compromising performance. The 85mm f/1.4 does just that, providing both a wider field-of-view (still with telephoto compression) and essentially equal performance compared to my beloved 105mm f/1.8. This short telephoto isn’t without its faults, but the few shortcomings present are minor with regards to portraiture.

Sharpness

Starting with 100% center crops (meaning clicking on them won’t make them bigger), we see that detail is pretty soft at f/1.4. Veiling haze from spherical aberration doesn’t help matters, keeping contrast low. Unfortunately, even at f/2, spherical aberration is still hiding much of the increase in sharpness. Finally at f/2.8, detail is very sharp and contrast noticeably increases with the absence of veiling haze. Performance continues to improve at f/4, with high contrast and sharpness at the pixel level. Interestingly, and unlike other reviews of this lens, detail and contrast continue to get better at f/5.6, where it peaks. Diffraction doesn’t noticeably set in until f/16, where detail/contrast is about the same as f/2. This is fantastic for landscape shooters; if you need sharpness and large depth-of-field, feel free to stop all the way down if need be! At the opposite end of the spectrum (wide-open and f/2), the relatively low detail can be helpful for portraits. What you want sharp (such as eyes/eyelashes) can be easily brought out via post-processing, and what you want left soft (such as skin) can be untouched.

Moving on to corner crops, we see where the 85mm f/1.4 struggles from a technical point of view. Wide open, detail and contrast is even lower, though there is no noticeable “smearing”. Even at f/2, there just isn’t any real sharpness to talk about. As the lens is stopped down further, detail and contrast continue to improve, but it doesn’t peak until f/8. Diffraction can be seen at f/16, but it’s nothing to worry about. It’s a shame to see that cross-frame sharpness isn’t possible with this lens, but given that the center is still incredibly sharp at f/8, consider this the go-to aperture for optimum sharpness. Also, when used from f/1.4-2.8, the corners are likely to never be in focus, so the lack of sharpness at these wide apertures is a non-issue in the field.

Other items of note, the 85mm f/1.4 exhibits negligible focus shift, and there is absolutely zero field curvature. That’s right, despite the extremely large aperture, I could have easily used crops from the corner for the center, and vice versa, while replicating the above results.

Graduate85mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/500Depth-of-field, not sharpness, can be of most concern at short portrait distances. Take a look at the embedded 100% crops in the above example. In the crop of the eye, detail looks smudged and unsharp, while the texture in her hat is much more detailed. Getting accurate focus is paramount to revealing the sharpness this lens has to offer.

Sharpness at Infinity

Important to landscape shooters, the 85mm f/1.4 doesn’t technically achieve cross-frame sharpness. To test this, I shot the now commonplace infinity test of the local clocktower that, after all this time, is still missing the “I”.

100% crops taken from the uppermost section of the clocktower. Test shots taken near sunset to ensure atmospheric haze doesn’t rob sharpness.

Left: Center at f/5.6 Right: Corner at f/8

However, this isn’t to say the 85mm f/1.4 isn’t a sharp lens at infinity. Quite the opposite, you can see moiré (or, false color) in the railing on top of the tower in both shots. Seeing these artifacts is indicative that a lens is outresolving a sensor. Also, for all real-world shooting, shooting at f/8 will yield essentially cross-frame sharpness like the normal distance tests earlier suggest.

Juxtaposition85mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/320However, shallow depth-of-field is still an issue for the landscape shooter. In this example, despite shooting at an already tiny aperture of f/11, stopping down even further to f/16 would have helped in getting more of the lower-left corner—and the moon—in focus.

Sharpness at Macro

With its close-focus distance of only 3 feet/.85 meters, the 85mm f/1.4 shouldn’t be your go-to lens of choice for close-up work. However, with Nikon’s CRC, sharp performance is still consistent all the way up to close-focus.

As close as you can get, with a 100% crop at optimum f/5.6. For a little better cross-frame sharpness, shoot at f/8.

For “everyday” macro shots, however, the close-focus distance isn’t all that limiting. Just don’t go for bugs or tiny garden flowers.

The Little Ones85mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/400Shooting up-close at f/1.4-2 gives images an entirely unique, dreamy feel that I haven’t seen from any other lenses to date.

Bokeh

The 85mm f/1.4 has renowned, smooth, buttery bokeh known across the photographic community. This is another reason why the lens still sells for a pretty penny to this day. Let’s see just how good this lens handles what’s NOT in focus. Click below for a larger image:

Wow, what can I say? THAT’S SMOOTH! From f/1.4-2, everything, from far backgrounds (far left) to close foregrounds (far right), is a smooth and non-distracting blur. From f/2.8-5.6, near-foreground bokeh (center-right) gets a little distracting from doubling artifacts, but everything else remains very smooth. At f/8 and f/11, close foregrounds (far right) begin to show doubling artifacts, but backgrounds are always smooth. Fully stopped down to f/16, everything is essentially in focus.

Mid-Air Chase85mm, ISO 3200, f/1.4, 1/800At f/1.4, subjects can still be rendered with 3-D “pop” even among the most bland of backgrounds.

Now, onto the lens’ handling of out-of-focus highlights.

Wide-open at f/1.4, otherwise neutral highlights are rendered with a hard edge that keeps the 85mm f/1.4 from producing a perfect circle of confusion. At f/2, highlights remain solid, and the edges soften out with a discernable nonagonal shape. This shape becomes more noticeable as the lens is stopped down further, and artifacts within highlights begin to show from f/5.6 and up.

Chromatic Aberrations

With its ultra-fast aperture and lack of ED glass, there’s bound to be plenty of chromatic aberrations in the 85mm f/1.4 at its larger apertures. To assess chromatic aberration, I shot this worst-case scene of high contrast, overexposing the sky by 2 stops:

100% crops taken from the center branch.

Actually, wait…it’s not as bad as I thought it would be! At f/1.4, the lens does exhibit noticeably bad purple fringing (about 20 pixels wide at its worst) but is mostly correctable. However, already at f/2, it’s almost completely gone, at only a few pixels wide. By f/2.8, there’s nothing to worry about in post-production.

All Smiles85mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/250Most lenses would have a lot of trouble with fringing on the black-and-white pattern on her skirt, but at f/2 on this lens, there’s nothing!

As you can see in the original shot of the branches (this was at f/5.6), there is some noticeable lateral fringing on the out-of-focus branches as well, typical of fast lenses like the 85mm f/1.4. If high performance in this area is important to you, stop down to at least f/8 to get rid of most of these LoCA’s.

Flare

As you know, the 85mm f/1.4 has a massive front element. Even with the hood attached (and multicoating), flare is a serious problem for this lens:

Note: relatively low veiling flare, but an abundance of multi-colored flare reflections and streaks in the image.

Even more area-specific reflections can be seen in this video, shot in black-and-white to emphasize the reflections:

Avoid strong sources of light as much as possible when photographing with this lens…

Softly85mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/4000…unless, of course, you want to try to use flare to enhance your image’s aesthetic.

Vignetting

Wide-open, the 85mm f/1.4 should exhibit noticeable vignetting, even on an APS-C sensor. That may be true on a full-frame camera, but on the NEX-7, vignetting isn’t that bad even wide-open:

The 85mm f/1.4 displays a hotspot along with mild vignetting at f/1.4, requiring both a +20 amount of correction and a midpoint of 0 in LR4. At f/2, however, vignetting is already negligible.

Cons

Detail at f/1.4 is still a bit disappointing straight out-of-the-camera

Depending on focus distance and aperture, foreground bokeh can be a bit distracting

Purple fringing at f/1.4 is a chore to edit out, and out-of-focus LoCA’s don’t start going away until f/8

Insanely bad flare, but this is to be expected with such a fast lens

Short focus travel, which can make precise focus a bit more challenging (especially at the larger apertures)

Manual-focus only, in case you had forgotten

The Bottom Line

If you’re in need of a fast 85mm portrait lens and desire fantastic performance starting around f/1.8 for people, and tack-sharp results for landscapes stopped down, you should give the 85mm f/1.4 AI-s a serious consideration—even more-so if you can score a “beater” for a bargain.

Weightless85mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/250

On the House85mm, ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/100

Return85mm, ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/4000

Pole Detail85mm, ISO 100, f/4, 1/400

Rock Out85mm, ISO 800, f/2, 1/200

Darshan85mm, ISO 1600, f/1.8, 1/250

Singing Those Blues85mm, ISO 720, f/2, 1/100

Warm Sunset85mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/80

That’s all for this post guys and gals, thanks for dropping by. It’s great to be back. 😀

Thank you eths. I look forward to mounting this and/or that Makro-Planar 100mm f/2 on a FF NEX-9. 😉

Per your sneaky feeling, though, it’s probably due to my focusing methods on the test chart. All of the fast AI-s lenses I have tested are near-impossible to critically focus on a B&W test chart wide open due to the spherical aberration. Too much one way, and it’s low contrast with high detail. Too much the other way, and it’s high contrast with smudgy detail. On real, actual subjects that aren’t test charts, even this lens is super-sharp wide-open. In the wide-open “mid-air chase” shot, despite all the noise from ISO 3200, there is still a ton of detail that I could recover on the player’s face. I’m really quite thankful I had this lens for that day, because pushing ISO any higher would render noise unbearable, and I didn’t have any lens as fast and long as this one. One more reason I can’t wait to get a full-frame camera and forget about ISO altogether.

I highly doubt we will ever see a NEX9. It makes no sense for Sony to introduce a full-frame cameras with E mount as it would instantly render every single existing NEX lens obsolete, while also cutting into their A mount business. That doesn’t mean we won’t get full-frame mirrorless, it just won’t likely be E mount.

Another possibility would be FF that is just always cropped unless the LA-EA2 A mount adapter is attached, but that is a very clunky solution.

A mirrorless A mount could definitely work. A fully-coupled extension tube or the LA-EA2 for use with existing A mount lenses, and a new line of AM (A mirror less) lenses that would work on mirrorless only (thanks to short flange distance.

Sadly, I doubt we will ever see any of that. It will be as it is now, A mount for full and crop, E mount for crop only. The FF camcorder also requires LA-EA2 to work.

Responding in order:
A full-frame e-mount NEX VG-900 already exists (as you know). It wouldn’t render the lenses obsolete, as there are still going to be four current bodies (NEX-3N, NEX-5r, NEX-6, NEX-7n?) that are APS-C. The restructuring of the (admittedly rumored) A-mount roadmap suggests some big changes are in line for A-mount anyway.

When an e-mount lens is attached to the VG-900, it goes into 1.5x crop mode just like the Nikon/Canon DSLRs. I would assume a NEX-9 would do the same. To take advantage of the full-size sensor, you mount CINE lenses or legacy options. A-mount lenses attached via LAEA2 would still only project onto APS-C—the opening with the translucent mirror isn’t large enough to cover a 35mm sensor.

Agreed on the A-mount mirrorless, that’s one of the big rumors floating around recently.

Why not? I’m sure there’s a market segment of people wanting a relatively compact camera that provides full-frame benefits ala Leica M 240/Monochrome. With the shorter flange distance of e-mount, a NEX-9 could easily be made at least a bit smaller.

Not arguing there, I love my NEX-7, and I’m curious what the next NEX-7 will have to offer in terms of signal-to-noise ratios. If ISO 6400 on a NEX-7n performed like ISO 1600 on my NEX-7, I’d jump on it in a heartbeat. But, I’m sure I’m dreaming. 😉

Actually, based on their current market, Sony cares more about their body sales anyway. Now that top manufacturers like Zeiss are making their own lenses for the system (and Sony even endorses Novoflex adapters on the VG-900 page), Sony might have their head in the right place with full-frame.

I recently bought this same lens for my NEX-6 with the (gasp!) infamous LensTurbo. Absolutely gorgeous. In my mind, good manual lenses like this will only go up in value as mirrorless cameras with focus peak become more mainstream. Not that it matters, as I will likely never want to sell this little hunk of glass!

Oh, and great review Matt – I read your thoughts on this lens literally hours before making an offer for it!

Hey there Rob, glad my review helped bolster your confidence in getting the lens. 🙂 I’m more looking forward to using lenses like this on the soon-to-be-announced full-frame NEX, as those speedboosters don’t appeal to me for my telephoto usage. Of course, that’s many months off, while these adapters are here now. Keep on a-shooting!

Hi – thank you for the review. I read this article with interest as I was in the market for a fast 85mm lens. I already had the Nikon 50mm F/1.2 AIS lens which shares some of the same mechanical virtues of the 85 cousin. However, seeing the review results wide open or at F2 gave me pause. I did find a late used copy in like new condition so I decided to give it a go. My initial results with a Nikon D810 were not encouraging. Then I mounted the lens on a Sony A7r via a cheap adapter and I noticed that at F/1.4 the difference between sharp and unsharp was a fraction of an arc degree. With some practice the results with the A7r were vastly better than with my D810 thanks to the A7r’s EVF magnified focus preview. I still see haze and a lack of contrast at 1.4 but I find my images a lot sharper and more contrasty than the ones here. I mention this because I almost did not buy the lens and I think it is a mechanical jewel and an optical workhorse. I imagine there may be a lot of variability with old lenses so results can vary. My lens is a late serial number that starts with the digits 239XXX.

Hey there, glad you found the review helpful! Unfortunately due to the inaccurate focusing screens in even the most flagship Nikon DSLRs (even the D4s), correctly focusing manual focus telephoto lenses is extremely difficult at or near open aperture (many Zeiss Otus owners who use a DSLR are seeing the same problem).

Gotta love the EVF on our Sony’s helping achieve critical focus every time, and quickly at that. Your lens was likely manufactured very later than mine, and it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that there is some noticeable sample variation even in these high-quality lenses (also, the A7r does a bit better with lenses in general than the NEX-7, due to the placement of the off-set micro lenses).

That said, my copy is also still one of my most used lenses in the field. Keep on shooting!